The Prognostic Role of BRAF Mutation in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Receiving Anti-EGFR Monoclonal Antibodies: A Meta-Analysis

Background

BRAF mutation has been investigated as a prognostic factor in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) undergoing anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies (moAbs), but current results are still inconclusive. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the relationship between BRAF mutation status and the prognosis of mCRC patients treated with moAbs.

Methods

Eligible studies were identified by systematically searching Pubmed, the Cochrane Library, Web of Knowledge, and OVID. Risk ratio (RR) for overall response rate (ORR), Hazard ratios (HRs) for Progression free survival (PFS) and Overall survival (OS) were extracted or calculated. Prespecified subgroup analyses were conducted in KRAS wild-type and in different study types. The source of between-trial variation was explored by sensitivity analyses. Quality assessment was conducted by the Hayden’s criteria.

Results

A total of twenty one trials including 5229 patients were identified for the meta-analysis. 343 patients displayed BRAF mutations of 4616 (7.4%) patients with known BRAF status. Patients with BRAF wild-type (WT) showed decreased risks of progression and death with an improved PFS(HR 0.38, 95% confidence intervals 0.29–0.51) and an improved OS (HR 0.35 [0.29–0.42]), compared to BRAF mutant. In KRAS WT population, there were even larger PFS benefit (HR 0.29[0.19,0.43]) and larger OS benefit (HR 0.26 [0.20,0.35]) in BRAF WT. A response benefit for BRAF WT was observed (RR 0.31[0.18,0.53]) in KRAS WT patients, but not observed in unselected patients (RR 0.76 [0.43–1.33]). The results were consistent in the subgroup analysis of different study types. Heterogeneity between trials decreased in the subgroup and explained by sensitivity analysis. No publication bias of ORR, PFS and OS were detected.

Conclusions

The results indicate that BRAF mutant is a predictive biomarker for poor prognosis in mCRC patients undergoing anti-EGFR MoAbs therapy, especially in KRAS WT patients. Additional large prospective trials are required to confirm the predictive role of BRAF status.     

Splicing Factor Transformer-2β (Tra2β) Regulates the Expression of Regulator of G Protein Signaling 4 (RGS4) Gene and Is Induced by Morphine

Regulator of G protein signaling 4 (RGS4) is a critical modulator of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated signaling and plays important roles in many neural process and diseases. Particularly, drug-induced alteration in RGS4 protein levels is associated with acute and chronic effects of drugs of abuse. However, the precise mechanism underlying the regulation of RGS4 expression is largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that the expression of RGS4 gene was subject to regulation by alternative splicing of the exon 6. Transformer-2β (Tra2β), an important splicing factor, bound to RGS4 mRNA and increased the relative level of RGS4-1 mRNA isoform by enhancing the inclusion of exon 6. Meanwhile, Tra2β increased the expression of full-length RGS4 protein. In rat brain, Tra2β was co-localized with RGS4 in multiple opioid action-related brain regions. In addition, the acute and chronic morphine treatment induced alteration in the expression level of Tra2β in rat locus coerulus (LC) in parallel to that of RGS4 proteins. It suggests that induction of this splicing factor may contribute to the change of RGS4 level elicited by morphine. Taken together, the results provide the evidence demonstrating the function of Tra2β as a new mediator in opioid-induced signaling pathway via regulating RGS4 expression.     

单核细胞增生李斯特菌单克隆抗体的制备与鉴定

以单核细胞增生李斯特菌细胞碎片免疫BALB/c小鼠,间接ELISA法成功筛选获得2株稳定分泌抗LM的单克隆杂交瘤细胞株4A7、4H11.抗体效价为1∶160 000以及1∶20 000,亚型为IgG1、IgG2a,Dot-ELISA结果表明4A7和4H11单克隆抗体具有很好的属特异性,Western blot分析表明4A7、4H11抗体分别与单核细胞增生李斯特菌62 kDa以及32 kDa外膜蛋白抗原表位结合,胶体金免疫电镜实验进一步确证以上抗体可有效识别单核细胞增生李斯特菌细胞表面抗原.     

Distribution of 2-kb miniplasmid pBMB2062 from Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki YBT-1520 strain in Bacillus species

A multi-copy and small plasmid pBMB2062 from Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki YBT-1520 strain was cloned and characterized and its distribution was analyzed using dot-blot analysis with the ORF1 fragment as a probe. Bacillus species of 84 serotypes were evaluated. The pBMB2062 plasmid was found to be present in commercial B. thuringiensis kurstaki (H3abc) and aizawai (H7) insecticides of various serotypes, and one Bacillus cereus UW85 strain (produced Zwittermicin fungicide and Cry toxin synergist). The sequences of 7 pBMB2062-like plasmids from randomly selected Bacillus species (positive signal in the dot-blot analysis) were highly conserved. Two open reading frames (ORFs), ORF1 and ORF2, were present in this plasmid. ORF1 was found to be necessary for plasmid replication, whereas ORF2 did not play a role in replication or stability. Based on its sequence homology, ORF2 was a putative solitary antitoxin. Furthermore, the copy number of the replicon of pBMB2062 was higher than those of ori1030 and ori44 based on the thermogenic data, and ori2062 could drive the stable replication of a recombinant plasmid (11 kb total size) in B. thuringiensis.     

5-羟色胺受体基因多态性位点与海洛因依赖的关联性研究

目的：5-HT（5-hydroxytryptamine,5-HT）参与了多种中枢神经活动的生理过程,其功能异常可以影响很多行为障碍,已有研究显示,5-HT水平与多种精神疾病密切相关。5-HT受体及其转运体基因在海洛因依赖发生发展中起到了重要的作用,是海洛因依赖的主要候选基因。探讨5羟色胺2A受体（Serotonin 2A receptor,HTR2A）基因启动子区-1438A/G（rs6311）、外显子区102T/C（rs6313）与5羟色胺1B受体（Serotonin 1B receptor,HTR1B）基因外显子区861G/C（rs6296）3个单核苷酸多态性和海洛因依赖的关联性分析。方法：严格按照诊断标准,选取无亲缘关系的海洛因依赖个体616例及健康个体600例提取基因组DNA,采用PCR-RFLP方法检测rs6311、rs6313和rs6296 3个SNPs位点的基因型频率,采用SPSS16.0软件分析各位点等位基因、基因型频率在病例-对照组间差异。结果：HTR2A基因rs6311和HTR1B基因rs6296位点的等位基因及基因型频率分布在2组间存在统计学差异（P〈0.05）,病例组rs6311位点的等位基因A频率显著高于对照组（X2=5.436,P=0.020,OR=1.208,CI=1.031~1.417）,rs6296位点的等位基因C频率显著高于对照组（X2=12.116,P=0.000,OR=1.329,CI=1.132~1.560）。连锁不平衡检验结果显示,HTR2A基因rs6311、rs6313位点处于不连锁状态,D＇〈0.5。结论：HTR2A基因rs6311和HTR1B基因rs6296多态性可能与海洛因成瘾有关,携带有rs6311 A等位基因与rs6296 C等位基因的人可能更容易对海洛因产生依赖。我们的研究为海洛因依赖易感人群筛选及药物靶向治疗提供了理论依据。     

左室主动固定电极在心脏再同步化治疗中的临床应用

目的：探讨左室主动固定电极在心脏再同步化治疗（cardiac resynchronization therapy,CRT）中的作用并总结其临床经验。方法：收集2008年1月至2013年1月由梅州I市人民医院心内科植入CRT的患者,共56例（男34例,女22例）。根据植入冠状窦电极的不同,分为左室主动固定电极组（17例）和被动电极组（39例）,观察和比较两组的手术时间、透视时间和造影剂用量。结果：左室主动固定电极组的手术时间[（61±36）minvs（143＋61）min,P=0．035]和透视时间[（10±5）minvs（45＋11）min,P=0．042]均较被动电极组显著缩短,而造影剂用量[（36±20）mlvs（87±46）ml,P=0．041]也较被动电极组明显减少。结论：左室主动固定电极用于心脏再同步化治疗可明显缩短手术时间,降低造影剂用量,使患者和术者均获益。     

Lymphotoxin Alpha (LTA) Polymorphism Is Associated with Prognosis of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in a Chinese Population

Background

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has been widely reported to be associated with autoimmune and pro-inflammatory response, and genetic polymorphisms of candidate genes involved in autoimmune and pro-inflammatory response may influence the survival and prognosis of NHL patients. To evaluate the role of such genetic variations in prognosis of NHL, we conducted this study in a Chinese population.

Methods

We used the TaqMan assay to genotype six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (TNF rs1799964T>C, LTA rs1800683G>A, IL-10 rs1800872T>G, LEP rs2167270G>A, LEPR rs1327118C>G, TNFAIP8 rs1045241C>T) for 215 NHL cases. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to compare progression free survival among two common genotypes. Cox proportional hazard models were used to identify independent risk factors.

Results

We observed that LTA rs1800683G>A was significantly associated with risk of progression or relapse in NHL patients (HR = 1.63, 95%CI = 1.06–2.51; P = 0.028), particularly in Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cases (HR = 1.50, 95%CI = 1.10–2.04, P = 0.01). Both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that in DLBCL patients, Ann Arbor stage III/IV, elevated LDH level before treatment and LTA rs1800683 AA genotype carrier were independent risk factors for progression or relapse. While in NK/T cell lymphoma, Ann Arbor stage III/IV and elevated β₂-MG level before treatment indicated poorer prognosis.

Conclusions

The polymorphism of LTA rs1800683G>A contributes to NHL prognosis in a Chinese population. Further large-scale and well-designed studies are needed to confirm these results.     

口腔微生物耐氟机制的研究进展

氟化物一直被当作一种有效的抗龋药物广泛应用,但长期使用氟化物可能会导致耐氟菌株的出现,使其通过表型适应或基因型改变对氟产生抗性,降低氟化物防龋效果,且长期氟干扰可能引起口腔微生态失衡,从而诱发疾病。鉴于氟与口腔疾病防治的密切关系,以及口腔微生物稳态对于口腔乃至全身健康的重要作用,本文就口腔微生物耐氟机制的研究进展作一综述。     

自建和选用微生物信息学平台辅助“生物信息学”课程教学探索

"生物信息学"课程主要讲授生物信息分析技术及其在动植物和微生物学研究领域中的应用。随着课程涉及的多种信息学分析软件和算法的不断开发和使用,应用领域也在不断拓展,因而其教学内容也需不断发展和更新。本文主要从不断发展和自建的微生物信息学平台如何辅助教学角度,探讨研究生"生物信息学"课程的教学模式及其实践效果。我们基于自建微生物信息学分析平台,以强化研究生解决实际问题和创新能力培养为目标,在教学内容、教学手段、授课方式和考核标准4个方面积极探索,建立了适合我校微生物学相关专业研究生培养目标的课程设置、启发式教学模式和成绩评价方式,促进了研究生培养质量和水平的提升。